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Poppies
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) Dorothy Gale (1939) Deadly Poppies The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) The Poppies are introduced in L. Frank Baum's first Oz book titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900 and appear in the eighth chapter of the novel The Deadly Poppy Field. In the tale, these dangerous poppies bloom within the magical Land of Oz and are used as an obstacle of which involves the main characters and protagonist in the plot of the story, Dorothy Gale, her pet dog named Toto, and their three Oz companions the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion. Yet these scarlet blossoms are mysteriously cursed. They are attractive to the eye, soothing to the smell, and dangerously fatal when among too many. The specific kind of poppy in Oz is a rare magical species type of flower which all happen to hold an extra strong Papaver somniferum within it's core and scented petals which produces edible seeds. This is also the source of the crude drug "opium" which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as heroine and morphine. Normal poppies are herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. Some species are monocarpic, dying after flowering, but in Oz these poppies can never die or ever wilt. In Oz, once the poppies blossom, they live forever. And when any living being or creature is surrounded by the pretty smell, it is so powerful that anyone who breathes it in for too long, falls into a deep eternal slumber, from which they cannot wake and one could sleep on forever and ever amongst these plants until eventual death. There is no way to break this dark spell and stop the deadly flowers unless one were to be carried and taken out of the field and far away enough to breathe in fresh air and come out of the deadly trance. The most popular version of the poppies are most memorable from the classic 1939 Judy Garland film The Wizard of Oz and were finally brought back on film in the plot of Disney's 2013-Oz Prequel Oz the Great and Powerful. Baum's Description Not much information is given as to where these blood red poppies originated from and why they became enchanted with the curse of eternal sleep. However, these poppies are describe by Baum as being more beautiful than any other poppy ever seen. They are big, bright, lively and luscious and delicately scented. The meadow that is full of hundreds of thousands of them is vast and stretches out many, many miles in every direction at the boarders of Munchkin Country. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz... The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) During the long Journey to Emerald City to see the Wizard, Dorothy nor her traveling comrades were ever warned beforehand about the curse held within the poppies. Thus walking right into the field until they were knee deep in the flowery red carpet. And thinking this only as a short cut, the group unknowingly walked right into a death trap. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto succumbed to the slumbering scent of these pretty plants as they traveled with their new found friends to see the Wizard. After Dorothy and Toto fell victim, even the Cowardly Lion gave into the hypnosis and temptation of them and fell fast asleep shortly after Dorothy and Toto did. He tried to run out of the field and away to safety when he realized what the flowers were capable of, but was unsuccessful and the huge beast collapsed lifeless among the pretty poppies. The Scarecrow and Tin Man were immune because they weren't made of flesh and blood, therefore they were not at all effected like their other three friends. Luckily because of this, they both were able to help their sleeping friends and they were rescued in time before they all died. Dorothy and Toto were light enough for the Strawman and Tinman to carry out of the poppy field; taken to safety at once and placed on a nearby meadow of rich green grass that helped the spell of the flowers wear off. The Lion however, (described as being nearly as large as a horse in size) was much too big and heavy to be carried out like the girl and her dog, so the Strawman and Tinman had to leave him behind to sleep on forever. All they could do was wish for their doomed friend to hopefully dream of finally finding his courage at last. Just as it seemed all hope was lost, a mean and hungry Wildcat ran past who was ruthlessly chasing a poor little mouse to make as its snack. The Tin Woodman saw this and out of compassion for the mouse, chopped off the Wildcat's head clean off with his handy axe to save the mouse. The mouse politely introduced herself as the Queen of the Field Mice. And as a sincere thank you, she and her loyal mouse subjects helped successfully rescue the Cowardly Lion from the sleep-inducing poppies which allowed them to continue on their journey to see the Wizard. Poppies 1939 As the travelers make their way out of the dark forest, Dorothy and her friends see the beautiful Emerald City far off in the distance. They all decide to run through a large poppy field to get to the city faster believing the field to be a shortcut. But when they get half way into the field they fall prey to the Wicked Witch of the West's clever trap. The Wicked Witch of the West (1939) The Wicked had enchanted these seemingly normal poppies in order to stop Dorothy, all so she could retrieve her sister's magic Ruby Slippers. It was a success and Dorothy helplessly collapsed as she laid next to Toto who was already fast asleep, as was the Cowardly Lion. When all hope seemed lost the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman frantically shouted for help. Luckily, Glinda the Good Witch heard their plea and gladly helped them by using her magic wand to make it magically snow, causing the effects of the enchanted poppies to be neutralized. Much to the Wicked Witch's dismay, this allowed Dorothy, Toto and Lion to awaken and rejoin their friends to continue the journey to see the Wizard unharmed. The Wiz In the modern and urban African-American version of Baum's story 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' The Wiz, in both the original Broadway show and 1978 Diana Ross film the poppies were controversially portrayed by a group of foxy ethnic woman with sassy attitudes dressed in tight leotards with pedal skirts, whom seduce the lion but is later saved by a field mouse. In the movie they are dressed in flashy red revealing outfits and walked the city streets of Oz putting people in a erotic trance. They seduced anyone who came near them by blowing magic opium glitter into the faces of their potential victim which would put them in a drugged induced state, most likely all their clients. This also happened as the Cowardily Lion and Dorothy got too close to the poppy girls as it is revealed they worked for Evillene. The Muppets' Wizard of Oz 2005 In this 2005 made for TV Muppets movie by Disney, Oz's poppy field is reinvented into a hip night club that closely resembles a Hookah-Bar that plays soothing jazz music. The music can hypnotize people into never leaving by putting them into eternal sleep. Oz the Great and Powerful 2013 In Disney's prequel movie Oz the Great and Powerful, Glinda the Good cast a spell upon the poppy meadow with her magic wand to disguise the scarecrow army in a clever illusion by covering them all in fog. This made it difficult for anyone to see that the fog covered army approaching Emerald City was nothing more than stuffed scarecrows. This trick illusion was used to specifically mislead and outsmart the two Wicked Witches as they sent their flying Baboons to attack Glinda's people. Since the poppies are poison, the Baboons fell alseep in the field before they could retreat. The trick was successful as it weakend the Wicked Witches Winged Army in the battle for Oz's Royal Throne. Once Upon A Time 2014 In ABC's hit TV show, Once Upon a Time, Emma Swan, the show's protagonist, is given poppy powder from another kingdom- presumably the Land of Oz - which can put even a giant to sleep instantly. Poppy Gallery IMG_20141028_030028.jpg|Scarecrow and Tin Woodman carry a sleeping Dorothy and Toto out of the poppy feild. By W. W. Denslow 1900. IMG_20141023_071047.jpg|Dorothy, Toto and Lion alseep amongst the poppies. 126b.png|Wildcat chases Queen of the Field Mice. Glinda-the-wizard-of-oz-5590466-600-400.jpg|Glinda saves the day! IMG 20140512 165059.jpg|Poppies of Oz IMG 20140512 170416.jpg|Poppy Field in the Marvel Comic version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Illustrated by Michael Hague. IMG 20140516 200129.jpg|Poppies Oz IMG_20141023_071115.jpg|the Deadly Poppy Field of Oz. IMG_20141023_071134.jpg|Poppies of Oz will kill you... IMG 20140516 200320.jpg|Poopies in Oz IMG 20140516 203004.jpg|Dorothy Gale and Poppies IMG 20140728 081527.jpg|Poppy Field by Michael Hague IMG 20140728 081815.jpg|Poppy Field by Michael Hague Poppies2.jpg|Poppies by W. W. Denslow Poppies b.jpg|Poppy Feild Charles Santore Poppy-red-corn std-300x224.jpg|A real Poppy flower Poppy field.jpg|Poppies Poppies-crop.jpg|Oz Poppies Poppies.jpg|Wiz Poppies Poppy Field Poppy Field